SOCCER: On a day when the main preoccupation within the Irish camp was the performance of Robbie Keane in last night's game at Bolton, Ian Harte unexpectedly became the latest player to pull out of Thursday's trip to Tbilisi.

The Leeds left back hasn't been missing from the Irish starting line-up for a competitive game in more than three years and despite his chronic loss of form at club level in recent times he remained a reasonable bet to start both of the team's crucial away qualifiers against Georgia and Albania over the coming eight days.

Instead the 25-year-old, who came on at the halfway point of his club's game against Liverpool on Sunday, has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons after his wife gave birth to the their first child.

Harte's departure last night prompted Irish manager Brian Kerr to hit the phones again. Having already given first senior call-ups to Sheffield Wednesday's Alan Quinn on Sunday and Rotherham United striker Alan Lee yesterday morning, the Ireland manager said he would be getting on to Richard Dunne and Stephen McPhail with a view to having the pair join up with his squad in Dublin over the course of the coming days.

Whether Harte would have retained his place in the Irish starting line-up in the forthcoming games depended to a large extent on Steve Finnan's ability to play in the match and the Fulham defender confirmed yesterday that the best he can currently hope for after fracturing a rib two weeks ago, is to feature in some way in tomorrow week's game against Albania.

"It's touch and go," he said yesterday, "but I'm still hoping to play in the second game. We'll probably make a decision on Tuesday (today) or Wednesday about my chances and I might have another scan, but I'm still hoping."

With Gary Kelly, Harte and Finnan, on Saturday at least, missing, the team's normally healthy surplus of full backs has pretty much evaporated.

A likely upshot is that John O'Shea may be asked to start this weekend's game in the position where he has played much of his football this season for Manchester United - assuming, of course, the young defender is fit enough to figure himself after getting a kick to his left thigh in Saturday's defeat of Fulham.

"I feel I'll be okay," he said, "but Alex Ferguson told me not to travel if I'm not 100 per cent. I went home to Waterford and just rested after the game which seems to have helped, but I'll talk to (Irish team doctor) Martin Walsh tomorrow and see then."

In the circumstances, Ireland can ill-afford to lose O'Shea at this stage and it seems almost unthinkable that what sounds like a relatively minor knock would keep him out of two qualifiers.

Ferguson, though, has been known to be rather persuasive in just this sort of club versus country situation.

Amid all the worries Keane, having seemed to come through last night's game without any problems, will at least have provided something of a boost to Kerr. The striker started the match and performed solidly enough - a fluffed late chance aside - in the circumstances and will have benefited from the run-out after being sidelined in recent weeks with a knee injury.

With Clinton Morrison gone, though, Kerr broadened his striking options yesterday when he rewarded Galway-born Lee with his first opportunity to spend some time with the senior international panel.

The 24-year-old has done the rounds a little in the lower division since being released by Aston Villa a few years back with spells at Port Vale, Torquay United and Burnley before he found a much a happier home for himself at Millmoor.

He is not a complete stranger to the international scene, having scored on his fifth and final appearance for the under-21s against Malta in July 1999, and he was previously on stand-by for the Greece game. Having scored 14 times in 33 appearances for the first division side, the 6ft 2in striker has made the cut this time.

"I'm very excited about it," he said yesterday. "I didn't get the phone call until this morning so I've been busy trying to do some washing and packing clothes for a 10-day break.

"With the games being in Albania and Georgia, which aren't the most attractive of places, I'm not too surprised that some players have cried off, but I am really looking forward to the experience."